If a customer is using these apps while he shops or has them still running in the background, Google’s new program pinpoints the origin of the user data and determines if the customer is in a place of business.

Google gets permission to do this kind of tracking when Android users opt in to the “location services” option in their smartphone’s options menu and when iOS users agree to allow “location services” for Google apps like Gmail and Google Maps.

The program was hinted at in an AdWords blog post from Oct. 1 regarding Google’s new “estimated total conversions” initiative. A “conversion” in this sense is a purchase, and Google is developing ways to track users across desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Google also mentioned that tracking conversions via phone calls is in the works, but has yet to release details.

Business Insider has reported on how Google is using cross-device conversion measurements in its war with Facebook for advertising supremacy. When advertisers are allowed to know as much as possible about users’ purchasing habits, they can target their ads more efficiently and reap the benefits. Measuring conversions is also important because it assures advertisers that their purchases are resulting in increased product sales.

Mobile users who search for products on their phones buy quickly after researching them, according to a Google/Nielsen report released on Tuesday. Consumers spend 15+ hours every week researching products, and more than half make their purchase within an hour after looking it up.

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Google could face a $9bn EU fine for rigging search results in its favour

A seven-year investigation into the world's most popular internet search engine was triggered by scores of complaints from both US and European rivals

EU antitrust regulators aim to slap a hefty fine on Alphabet unit Google over its shopping service before the summer break in August, two people familiar with the matter said, setting the stage for two other cases involving the US company.

The European Commission's decision will come after a seven-year investigation into the world's most popular internet search engine was triggered by scores of complaints from both US and European rivals.

The EU competition authority accused Google in April 2015 of distorting internet search results to favour its shopping service, harming both rivals and consumers.

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Apple, Google, Facebook and Goldman condemn Trump's Paris withdrawal

The Commission and Google declined to comment. The US company has in the past rejected the charges, saying that regulators ignored competition from online retailers Amazon and eBay.

An artist painted a giant 404 error message in Italy to protest Google

The Sun MagazineFriday MAY 22nd, 2020FIRST CASE OF ARTISTICAL CENSORSHIP BY GOOGLE CORP.

In the small city of GAETA, Italy, a giant 125m (471 ft) wide mural by French street-artist MTO has been silently censored by Google CORP. Is this the first case of artistic censorship on our good old Google Earth?

This is the imagined headline and lede written by French artist MTO in thedescription to his latest work, “We Live On Google Earth,” in which he criticizes how much control Google has gained over the world’s information and art.

Last year, Google announced it would begin capturing images of street art from around the world. On the surface, it seems like a good idea: most street art is by definition ephemeral, and the project in theory gives anyone anywhere a chance to see it.

But sometimes street art goes away without an artist’s consent, as has recently been the case in places ranging from Lima, where the mayor just ordered to eliminate all wall art; to Detroit, where last fall fines began being issued to property owners who refused to remove graffiti from their property, even when they had approved the work themselves.

And Google itself has in some countries bowed to pressure from governments to censor results — although to its credit it has highlightedwhen such instances occur.

Still, given all this, allowing one entity to accumulate this much control over acts of expression is, for MTO, unwise. The European Union seems to think so as well, as it may soon charge Google with antitrust violations.

First spotted by open source developers, the Chromium browser – the open source basis for Google’s Chrome – began remotely installing audio-snooping code that was capable of listening to users.

It was designed to support Chrome’s new “OK, Google” hotword detection – which makes the computer respond when you talk to it – but was installed, and, some users have claimed, it is activated on computers without their permission.

“Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was actively listening to your room,” said Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate party founder, in a blog post. “Which means that your computer had been stealth configured to send what was being said in your room to somebody else, to a private company in another country, without your consent or knowledge, an audio transmission triggered by … an unknown and unverifiable set of conditions.”